Ireland to borrow €100m for the redevelopment of Dublin Port

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is to provide a €100m loan for the redevelopment of Dublin Port.

Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe is meeting with the vice president of the EIB, Jonathon Taylor, to discuss long-term plans.

The EIB has committed to providing the loan over 20 years.

The Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) Project is the largest single infrastructure development project in the history of the Port.

It is expected to take five years to complete, costing an estimated €230m.

The announcement comes as figures show total imports and exports for the year to September 30th was 24 million gross tonnes - an increase of 5.8% in the first nine months last year.

Dublin Port says its trade volumes are continuing to rise in line with projections for a record year in 2015.

Eamonn O'Reilly, chief executive of the Dublin Port Company, said: "It is clear now that 2015 will be a record year and that yet more growth will come in future years as Ireland’s economy recovers".

"The strong growth on the import side and, within this, the 8.2% growth in petroleum imports from 2.7m to 2.9m tonnes and the 12,000 additional cars imported in the first nine months all come from the welcomed recovery in the domestic economy", he added.